The Gift
by Magical Black Cat
Summary: What happens when the Pharaoh's Court decides to celebrate Valentine's Day...in the afterlife. Chaos ensues! Vaseshipping and Blueshipping. Happy Valentine's Day. Attempted humor, so be forewarned.


Hi everyone! For those who read the LOZ fic, this is the same. A gift for my sister, the one who actually does the writing. So, please do not criticize the story too much, as it was meant as a gift for her and never to be posted. Here we go, and please review! Happy Valentine's Day to all! :)

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As he peered through some of the manuscripts, Seto wondered what in the name of Ra could have possessed people to make a holiday for, of all things, couples. It was unthinkable, and while his Pharaoh and Mana weren't too concerned about it, Seto was starting to feel distinctly trapped.

Valentine's Day. A day of horror, where one either gave lavish gifts to the one they…cared for or, so it seemed, inevitably broke up with them. Inevitably. The mere thought was enough to make Seto shudder. A sudden noise behind him caused him to slam the book shut, sending it to the Shadow Realm before turning. Standing there, grinning like a Cheshire cat, was Mana.

"Sooooooooo… What're you and Kisara doing for today?" she asked, a gleam in her eyes indicating her secret pleasure in her new sport.

Giving her a cool look, Seto responded as steadily as possible, "Why would Kisara and I do anything new today, of all days. It is the same as yesterday, will be the same as tomorrow, which will then be like the day after it. I don't see why I should be doing anything at all."

Mana raised an eyebrow, "Reeeaaaly? 'Cause it seems to me like you're trying not to admit how much you like someone…" Ignoring the glare Seto sent her way, Mana pouted. "Besides, I think this modern custom is really fun. I mean, I have Prince running around in complete panic!" As she finished, Mana broke into a fit of giggles, forgetting that Seto would not think well of her manipulations.

"I, Mana, am doing nothing today, and that is final."

"Even Mahad is doing something with Isis." Mana pouted.

A death glare caused her to freeze in place, and Seto took his time before responding, "Yes, and who decided to do something… Mahad? Or Isis?"

A grin once again spread over Mana's face, even as she turned back towards the door. "Oooooh… I hadn't thought of that…"

With a sigh, Seto watched the former High Priestess disappear around the doorframe before turning back to the book. Finally.

Atem ran down the hall. Mana had been acting… strange that day. Very strange. Ever since he had regained his memories and rejoined his family and friends in the Afterlife, Atem had been unsure of his relationship with the girl. While he was reasonably certain Mana felt the same as he did… well, if he was wrong he didn't want to ruin what they had. The fact that if he hurt Mana, Mahad would come after him with rather nasty, non-permanent spells was also a factor. While Mahad would protect his Pharaoh, and had done so, at any cost Mana was his student. In a way, Mahad had almost taken on the role of a father for Mana.

Shuddering once again, Atem continued down the corridor. Mana had asked him for chocolate, flowers, and whatever else it was that happened on Valentine's Day. Of course, having only learned about the holiday from Yugi, Atem was not exactly certain as to what he should be doing. Primarily, what he should use in place of chocolate (which did not exist in Ancient Egypt), what to use in place of roses (which…surprisingly…also did not exist in Egypt in general), and all in all, what else would happen today. Or, rather, he knew what should happen, just not how to give that to Mana… Speaking of which, if he didn't hurry, he would be late for their arranged meeting.

Atem arrived just in time to find Mana waiting for him on the rooftop, already watching the setting sun. Climbing up next to her, Atem placed his bundles next to his companion before settling down himself. Glancing over, he blushed as he realized how…beautiful Mana looked with the sun shining on her face.

He was drawn from his musings when Mana turned to face him.

"So? What do you have?" she asked, face lighting up in a way that pulled Atem's heart.

"Ummm… well, I couldn't find chocolate, which I was told by Yugi was traditional, so I… borrowed some treats from the kitchens. As for flowers, I also couldn't find roses, but I figured that water lilies would do…"

Mana watched him expectantly, face lighting up upon the mention of the sugary sweets and as she caressed the soft petals of the lilies. "Well?" she asked finally, "Isn't there more, Prince?"

Trying frantically to hide his blush, Atem shook his head. "N-n-no. This was all Yugi mentioned to me…"

He froze midsentence when Mana muttered something that sounded an awful lot like the word 'idiot' before leaning in and kissing him. When she pulled away, both friends were blushing. Finally regaining her voice Mana spoke up.

"I can't believe you didn't do that earlier… I thought I'd been giving enough hints…"

A smile starting to spread across his face, Atem leaned closer to her, "Well then, Mana, let me tell you how much I love you and have loved you for as long as I can remember."

Mana also leaned forwards, readying herself for another kiss when both friends were interrupted by noise in the courtyard below.

"Mahad! Why are you running away? You come back here right now, and don't think I don't know that you're going to go hide in your room instead of getting us something to sit on!"

As his eyes met Mana's, Atem grinned. As soon as they were done up here, Mahad would have a lot of explaining to do…

As he approached the beautiful white skinned woman, Seto felt his emotions rise up, until it was all he could do to keep his stoic expression. Kisara turned to face him, smiling.

"Seto! I'm so happy to see you." She called softly, her smile lighting up her face until Seto could swear that it glowed in the darkness surrounding them as Ra made his nightly journey.

Seto moved over next to her, hesitating before speaking. "Kisara… I'm sorry we didn't do anything today like the others did…"

Shaking her head, Kisara took his hand, gently placing her head on his shoulder as she continued to look out over the stars, "That's alright, Seto. I know how you feel about me, just like you know how I feel. Nothing will ever change that. I didn't need you to embarrass yourself to make me feel loved; I feel loved every moment of every day that you're there."

Silence reigned and Seto wondered, not for the first time, if maybe he didn't deserve the gorgeous woman next to him. Strange, if one considered their respective classes and the popular view on the matter.

Seto quietly pulled an object out of the Shadow Realm, turning enough to see Kisara's expression as he gave her the gift he'd prepared. As she gently took the white crystal flower, Seto knew he'd been right to give her the present. Even if he'd had to deal with that darned magician to get it…


End file.
